Gable. Brynäs claimed their fourth consecutive home win.
Then sporting director Johann Alsin invited Stig Salming to the dressing room, where the former Brynä captain gave an appreciative victory speech.
It was an honor to be able to do this, says Salming, who had a difficult year behind him.
In an interview with Sportbladet on Tuesday, former Brynä captain, legendary Stig Salming, spoke about his difficult year. His wife and life partner Lina passed away at the same time that his younger brother, Bure, was affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and his condition was deteriorating every day.
Stig Salming, who took six SM golds with the Brynäs and hit the crucial golden goal in 1980, is often in Brynäs’ home matches. Now he got to experience another home win, 4-1 against Linköping. Fourth straight victory at the ERP Monitor Arena after the opening loss against Luleå.
For me, going to the match would be a way to get away from all the boring things that were. A breathable hole to experience matches like this and feel the joy. You walk away from seriousness—which lurks there like a cloud of anxiety—in a nice way, says Stig Salming.
After the final whistle, it was Breinas sporting director Johann Alsin who asked Salming if he wanted to go down to the dressing room with him and say a few words to the team.
Something Stig Salming agreed and gave a speech of appreciation as cheers were heard all the way down the hallways. Among other things, Salming paid tribute to the team and paid tribute to young Alexander Ljungkrantz, who became top scorer once again:
Manner praised Salming’s speech
I think these two guys, Ljungkrantz and (William) Stromgren, are doing incredibly well. Ljungkrantz was pretty huge considering his age (20 years) and how little he played, says Salming, who also praised the entire team:
– There’s a lot to be happy about. From goalkeepers to defenders, the Czech (David Sklinka) is a huge exclamation point. But everyone does a great team job.
Coach Mikko Maner appreciated the initiative by Stig Salming to get into the locker room.
Great that we are afraid of culture. I told Stig that you are always welcome here when you are here. He gave a small speech and everyone was happy and had great respect for a man like Stig. He gave a much better speech than I received.
Stig Salming has been in Brynä’s dressing room many times before after games, including once last season, but looking at what happened last year, tonight’s visit was special:
It might mean a lot to him in this case. Team sports should be such that you never forget, you always belong to a group and that’s what we show respect to these legends. Once you belong to Brynäs, Manner says, you always do.